Albertsons Media Collective and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are launching a scripted short-form series set inside Albertsons stores, designed to expand the retailer’s media network beyond digital search and display advertising into branded entertainment tied directly to product sales.

The series, titled “Rico’s Tacos,” debuts June 23 on Albertsons’ YouTube channel, social platforms, and in-store digital screens across more than 2,200 locations in 35 states. New episodes will drop weekly through the end of August. One episode will also screen at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where Albertsons plans to attract interest from other brands.

Each episode runs one to two minutes. The show centers on a widowed father, his teenage daughter, and her grandmother as they build a family taco business in a Southern California neighborhood near Venice Beach. Production company Brilla Media filmed the series inside Albertsons stores using real associates and built episodes around 25 types of shopper trips that Albertsons’ data identifies as common store visits. 

P&G products appear as organic parts of scenes rather than as explicit ad breaks. In the pilot, the family’s grandmother stocks up on avocados at Albertsons and also picks up a bottle of P&G’s Head & Shoulders shampoo, according to The Wall Street Journal.

From Shopper Data to Script

Creative development for “Rico’s Tacos” drew on Albertsons shopper intelligence and P&G consumer data, with both companies contributing insights before production began. Manny Ruiz, CEO of Minivela and showrunner on the series, described the data as foundational to the concept.

“Those insights became the creative spark that shaped the franchise from the very beginning and continued to inform its development throughout the process,” Ruiz said. “We’re not simply using data to optimize advertising. We’re using insights to inspire entertainment.”

Lela Coffey, P&G’s VP of User Growth Acceleration for North America, said media fragmentation has made it harder to reach consumers through traditional channels. “If we can engage them in the store, they will go onto the app and theoretically watch the episode and do their shopping,” she said, WSJ reported.

Distribution and Measurement

Albertsons plans to run 15-second teasers on in-store digital screens placed at entrances, meat and seafood counters, and outdoor refueling stations. Each screen will carry a QR code linking to the Albertsons app, where shoppers can watch full episodes and access loyalty program offers. The series will also appear across both companies’ social media channels.

To measure the series’ impact, Albertsons will compare sales at locations where the show airs against stores where it does not, and track how many viewers watch full episodes on the app and complete purchases.

Brian Monahan, SVP of Albertsons Media Collective, said the network aims to go beyond ad placements and help brands develop content that drives purchases. “Retail media is evolving beyond placements toward work that drives brand love, commerce, and measurement,” he said.

Retail media spending in the U.S. is projected to reach $72 billion in 2026, representing 19% of all digital ad spending, and grow to approximately $95 billion by 2028, according to eMarketer. Despite that scale, only about 3% of brands’ digital retail media spending currently flows to in-store ads and content, according to retail media analyst Kiri Masters.

Andrew Lipsman, founder of retail-focused consulting firm Media, Ads + Commerce, compared the format’s potential to television. “It has a lot of the same benefits of television. It’s got reach, quality inventory, scarcity, cultural relevance. It just doesn’t have the same attention span,” he said.

Albertsons Media Collective said it plans to develop additional series, formats, and brand collaborations in the coming months.

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